The Opelousas courier., 1887-07-09
THE-SUEZ CANAL.
How Traffic Along the Great
Ditch is Controlled.
The Movements Of the Vessels Directed
From an Office Near suez.

A writer in the London Saturday Re-
view describes how the traffic along the
Sucz Canal is directed and controlled
from the office at T%erreplcin, near Suez.
The number of ships in the canal at the
same time is sometimes very great. on
the 9Th of December last, for example,
| fifteen steamers cleared the canal, OF
which seven were outward bound. On
the previous day nine ships cleared, and
on the following day seven, SO that dur
ing the 9Th some thirty ships were prob
ably at one time in tho canal. Some
times there are as many as forty, and all
are completely under the control of the
French gentleman sitting at his desk in
an upper chamber at T%erreplein. The
method of working is exceedingly
simple. Against the wall at one
side of the room is
narrow shelf or platform, along which
runs a groove. At intervals this trough
or grove has deep recesscs, and at two
places these 1ecesses are of larger size.
This trough or groove represents the ca
nal. The rccesses are the s.dings. The
larger intervals arc the Great Bitter Lake
and Lake Timsoh. When o vessel has
been signalcd and is about to enter the
canal at, say, the suez end, a small toy
boat or model, three or four inches long,
is chosen to represent her. A group of
these model ships stands ready beside
the model-canal, each furnished with a
flag. About forty have the English flag
ten ora dozen the French flag, aud SO on
with other nationalities. AS the steamer
comes up and her name is known it is
written on paper and placed On the toy
boat. The whole number of ships thus
actually in the, canal at any moment can
be seen at a glance; and, as the tele-
graphic signals give notice, the toy
boats are moved along, or placed in a
siding, or shown ~traversing one of the
lakes at full speed. Signals AT sent
from the office to the various "gares'
prescribing the siding at which each
ship must stop to let another meet
and pass it. The official who is on duty
keeps the models moving as he receives
notice, taking care when perhaps two
ships going in opposite directions are
both nearing the same siding to give
timely warning to the pilots in charge by
means of the signal bells and flags at
station under his control from the office,
and to direct which of the two is to lie
up and which to proceed. Barring acct
dents, the whole arrangement goes like
c~lockwork; the clerk can read off in a
moment the name, tonnage, nationality,
draft, and actual situation of every |
steamer; he can tell what pilot she has
on board, what is her breadth of beam, |
what rate she is moving at, and every
tn ng else which has to be known about
her; and he is able without an effort to
govern all her movements, to prescribe
the place where she is to pass the night,
and the hour which she is to get under
way in the morning, although he does
not see her, and probably never saw her in
his life. The fees which vessels pay for
passing through the canal are often
enormous. Some of the large liners of
the ?. & o. or the Orient service pay as
much as 1880 in making a single tran
sit. For every passenger half a napo-
leon, or eight shillings four pence, is
charged. Thrce-fourths of the ships
that go through the canal are English.